IPL 2023: Five Interesting Facts about IPL Season 16

1.
IPL
becomes
pan-India
again

The
IPL
2023
will
come
as
a
fresh
air
to
many
parts
of
India.
This
will
be
the
first
time
IPL
will
be
played
across
the
length
and
breadth
of
the
country
since
the
COVID-19
pandemic.

In
2020
and
2021,
the
tournament
was
organised
in
the
UAE,
while
last
year,
it
was
limited
to
only
in
Mumbai
for
all
the
group
stage
matches,
while
the
playoffs
and
the
final
were
played
in
Kolkata
and
Ahmedabad
respectively.
A
return
of
IPL
to
all
parts
of
the
country
will
be
a
great
thing
for
the
fans
and
the
franchises.

2.
Lucknow
to
welcome
LSG

Among
the
ten
franchises,
Lucknow
Super
Giants
are
the
only
team
who
are
yet
to
play
an
IPL
match
in
their
home
ground.
The
LSG
franchise
played
their
matches
in
Mumbai
and
Kolkata
last
season
and
will
get
the
taste
of
their
home
support
and
home
ground
for
the
first
time
since
their
existence.

The
KL
Rahul-led
side
will
be
taking
on
fellow
Northern
rivals
Delhi
Capitals
on
April
1
and
thus
make
their
debut
at
their
home
ground.

3.
IPL
streaming
destination
changes

Since
the
live
streaming
of
the
IPL
started,
Star
Sports
and
Disney+
Hotstar
were
synonymous
with
the
IPL
for
the
fans.
But
things
have
changed
this
season.

Although
Star
Sports
network
will
provide
the
telecast
on
TV,
fans
will
have
to
switch
to
JioCinema
to
watch
the
live
stream
of
the
IPL.
It
is
true
that
there
won’t
be
any
subscription
costs
to
live
stream
IPL
this
season,
but
it
is
definitely
a
massive
change
in
the
digital
broadcast
rights
of
IPL
and
BCCI
as
a
whole.

This
is
also
the
first
time
there
will
be
a
4K
video
resolution
in
the
IPL
matches
as
fans
can
enjoy
a
much
higher
quality
of
video
during
the
streaming.

4.
The
arrival
of
Impact
Player

For
the
first
time
in
IPL
history,
a
team
can
field
a
substitute
player
as
an
Impact
Player
in
the
match.

Impact
Player
is
a
player
each
team
can
choose
from
a
substitute
list
before
their
match
who
can
come
on
anytime
during
the
match
as
a
replacement
for
another
player.
And
the
interesting
thing
is
that
the
Impact
Player
can
go
on
to
bat
or
bowl
for
his
respective
side
in
the
second
inning
of
the
match.
This
will
definitely
make
the
tournament
more
interesting
as
the
dynamism
of
the
matches
will
increase
with
the
introduction
of
this
new
rule.

But
an
impact
player
can
only
be
an
Indian
player
unless
there
are
less
than
4
overseas
players
in
the
playing
XI.
Teams
can
name
four
substitutes
before
the
match,
and
only
one
out
of
them
can
be
introduced
as
the
impact
player
during
the
match.

5.
The
Group
matches
shuffle

The
10
IPL
teams
have
been
divided
into
two
groups.

Group
A:
Mumbai
Indians,
Rajasthan
Royals,
Kolkata
Knight
Riders,
Delhi
Capitals,
Lucknow
Super
Giants

Group
B:
Chennai
Super
Kings,
Punjab
Kings,
Sunrisers
Hyderabad,
Royal
Challengers
Bangalore,
Gujarat
Titans

In
previous
years,
teams
from
the
same
group
used
to
play
twice
with
each
other,
while
playing
twice
with
one
of
the
teams
from
the
other
group,
followed
by
one
match
against
the
remaining
four
teams
of
the
other
group.

But
it
has
reversed
this
year.
As
teams
from
Group
A
will
play
twice
against
all
the
teams
of
Group
B.
And
they
will
play
once
against
the
remaining
four
teams
of
their
own
group.